Misbah suggests domestic overhaul for change in results

Pakistan’s Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has suggested the need to overhaul the domestic system if results are to change, and also that Pakistan’s issues are deeper than captaincy.

His comments come at a time when the PCB is set to overhaul the current Pakistan team, following consecutive failures in the recent tours of New Zealand and Australia where they lost five Test matches on the trot and could only manage a single win in ODI’s.

“Make anyone captain – Azhar or Sarfraz – but unless we solve our problem deep down, whoever comes in will face problems,” Misbah said in Faisalabad on Wednesday. “We have to improve domestic cricket and groom talent. If we want to do well in England, Australia and South Africa, we have to give the players maximum experience of playing there. If a player keeps on playing here [in Asia] and all of a sudden does a tour of Australia or South Africa after six years, it will be difficult for him [to perform].”

Pakistan’s domestic cricket has been a subject of criticism for many years and Misbah suggested bringing domestic cricket quality close to international standard for change in results.

“Don’t start thinking that there will be change in the team after PSL,” he said. “I think we have to improve [the domestic structure] overall. It is just a tournament. Obviously players will come from it and it will give them exposure, [but] otherwise we have to do a lot of work. We have to bring our domestic cricket close to international standards for whatever talent comes through from the Under-16s and Under-19s. We have to prepare better pitches and improve the standards of our cricket in domestic set-up.”

Misbah has been under fire amidst suggestions from cricketing pundits that he should retire now and his international cricket days are numbered. However, he is keen to assess his batting hunger as he leads the defending champions, Islamabad United, in the PSL’s second edition starting from February 9 in Dubai.

“We need consistency in the thinking of our nation, and then there will be consistency in our team,” he said. “If your thinking is not consistent and it changes after one match, then the team’s performance will also be like that.

“If you are talking about me – I retired one year ago, but at that time the whole nation said I should keep on touring. Now the whole nation is saying that I should be ashamed of myself and go. If you do such things, nobody will be ready to become captain. It’s not necessary you win every series, it’s not necessary you perform in every series. One can put in his best effort. Our views change if you don’t perform in four matches, despite performing for six years.”